Learning Celebration Reflections

By Dan Saken

Learning Celebrations

Two summers ago, I read an article by a Baylor Sociology professor that claimed students in his class performed better on assessments when the teacher reframed "Test Days" by instead referring to them as "Learning Celebrations."  So, always looking for ways put a positive spin on things, I decided to make the change myself starting last school year.  I told students that instead of taking "tests" where students are worried about what they didn't learn, we would instead focus on celebrating what they did learn. 

While I definitely received numerous odd looks and eye rolls from students when I first introduced the idea, "Learning Celebrations" have become an important part of the class vernacular for both myself and my students.  We even blast "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang as students arrive to class (in addition to some really bad dancing by myself) to give them an extra boost of positive vibes before we start the Learning Celebration.  And though the simple name change hasn't done away with all anxiety students may feel when taking a unit assessment or magically led to all students earning A's, I did see an increase in class averages from previous years on a majority of my assessments.

Taking Time to Reflect on Learning Celebrations

A vital part of Learning Celebrations is actually getting to celebrate how well students performed the day after.  My classes set aside the day after a Learning Celebration to give students time to reflect on how they did and give them opportunities to see what they knew and what they didn't.  Student are always anxious/excited to see the grade they received, but it is even more important (especially in a class that is cumulative like AP Psychology) that students get a chance to fill in any gaps of knowledge that may exist.

A student who scores an 85% on an assessment is seemingly in a pretty good place grade-wise, but that still means that the student did not know 15% of the content.  If students don't reflect and learn the right answer to a question they missed, that 15% could continue to get wider and wider.  This would then form a considerable gap in their knowledge, leading to them making the same mistake when faced with a similar problem later on.  I have a poster in my room that states, "An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."  That kind of thinking guides our Learning Celebration Reflection.

Team Retake of the Learning Celebration

I have various activities I use on reflection days throughout the year, but the one I like to do with the first unit is a team retake.  Students are placed in homogeneous groups of 3-4 based on their individual scores (but they don't know how they scored until after the team retake).  I also try to group students that don't normally sit by each other or work together as much as possible to get them interacting with more of their classmates and possibly reduce distractions.  They are tasked with retaking the entire multiple choice section of the Learning Celebration, with the promise of earning some extra points if they do even better on the team retake than they did individually.

The conversations, debates, and friendly disagreements are incredibly rewarding to listen to, especially when they have "Aha!" moments related to questions or answer choices they may have read or interpreted wrong the first time through.  Their ability to arrive at those moments through self-realization or guidance from classmates is a lot more meaningful with a longer-lasting impact than if I simply told them the right answers myself.  When groups finish the retake, everyone in the group gets their individual scores back, getting time to see what they got right and wrong themselves, helping peers with questions they answer incorrectly, and ensuring their errors do not become a mistakes.

Using Statistics and Modeling Content

Once all groups have finished the retake, I talk about the class average and single out the most-missed questions for further review.  Last year, I added one more thing to my reflection days as a way to further connect to the content we learn in Unit 1 of AP Psychology.  The first unit is on Research Methods, which includes a part on statistics and how data is used to interpret results of studies.  On an Excel spreadsheet, I calculated the Mean, Median, Mode, Skew and Standard Deviation of the data on an Excel spreadsheet, along with creating a Histogram (bar chart) to see if there was a Normal Curve....all terms we learned in the first unit.  I'm no Excel whiz, but YouTube is a magical place to learn how to do things!

I share all that data and the graph with the students so they can see the statistics at work, especially with a concept such as standard deviation, which can be confusing for students.  Statistics are not overly relevant in most of the other units over the rest of the course, but I continued inputting data from the Learning Celebrations to show students on reflection days and it has become a mainstay in the reflection process.

Correlation Does Not Prove Causation! (But it's still informative!)

One last way I tried to connect the content with our reflection was through a demonstration of correlation.  In the Research Methods unit, one of the most important concepts is that "Correlation does not prove causation!"  However, identifying correlations can give us valuable information on how two variables might be related.  One required assignment I have for each unit is completing a Unit Review Quiz on Schoology that takes 20 random questions from a question bank.  Students can take the Review Quiz as many times as they like, getting a different set of questions each time, and I take their highest score as their grade.  Since there is no way to reasonably gather data on the amount of reading, studying, note-taking, etc. each student does to prepare, the best accessible and objective data point I have to see if there is a correlation with success on the Learning Celebration is if students had actually taken the Review Quiz.

I calculated the average score of students who completed the Unit Review Quiz at least once vs. the average score of students who did not do the quiz at all.

• Period 1: 78% (took quiz) vs. 67% (no quiz)
• Period 2: 74% (took quiz) vs. 70% (no quiz)
• Period 3: 80% (took quiz) vs. 74% (no quiz)

I stressed the idea that "correlation does not prove causation," so I wasn't claiming that taking the Schoology Review Quiz automatically led to higher scores.  But the data did show that those that took the quiz were at least more likely to score higher than those who did not.  Not only was I able to again connect to the content we learned in the unit, I'm hoping it will inspire more students to take advantage of the review tool in preparation of future celebrations.  After all, reflecting on Learning Celebrations is a lot more enjoyable when the scores show there's something to celebrate!

What is the Purpose of School: students' perspective

By Kim Miklusak

We talk about purpose a lot in the Collab Lab, so much so that it's become a running joke.  But it's true: knowing the purpose of why we do what we do in our classrooms is the center of everything.  It guides everything from our goals to our assessments to our grades and everything else in between.

We decided it would be interesting to hear students' perspectives of school and classes--not any class in particular, but overall.  So we invited in a small group of juniors and (literally) grabbed some seniors as they were on their way out the door.  This is a group limited in that they are mainly AP English students.  We realize that this is just a small representation of our student body, and we hope to host this same type of meeting with other groups of students on the same and additional topics in the future!

We could write a year's worth of blogs based on what they talked about, and they could have talked another hour!  You can follow this link to read the entire summarized transcript of the conversation as it happened, but here are some points I found most insightful and interesting:

• Students felt that while academics held a great importance, obviously, that "soft skills" such as time management, character, networks of support, etc. are all equally as important.  We talked about whether these were skills teachers should teach or if they were simply expected.  Surprisingly (or not surprisingly based on this group) many students said it was self-accountability and self-awareness that were most important although they admitted that not everyone has a support structure or that it took some people more time to develop these skills.  This, interestingly, relates back to a previous post we had about Executive Functioning Skills.
• Students discussed at length the process vs. product of school.  They discussed why some teachers require notes and assignments to be completed in a certain way even if it wasn't the way a student learned best--again while conceding that it's not possible to completely individualize instruction.  They do advocate for options in the process of learning.  There were disagreements about whether habits of work and task completion were truly useful in the learning process.  There was also great discussion about why we average grades (unprompted, seriously!), that if by the end of the year they are able to demonstrate mastery, why were grades averaged from earlier in the year when they were not yet mastering materials.  Again, however, the conversation came back to the idea of grades being a reflection of where you are and thus not including "task completion" activities simply to bump up grades.
• Students brought up the importance of clear standards, the need to clearly know what they need to know and be able to do.  They talked about how class needs to be a reflection of the proportion of the assessments; that is, do we as teachers spend the appropriate amount of time on skills and topics in our instruction and in our assessment, and is that then reflected appropriately in our grade books?  Do we provide appropriate and timely feedback when we return assignments, holding ourselves to the same standards that we hold them?  This led into a conversation about the importance of critical inquiry and critical reading (again, unprompted!) with one student saying: 

  “The way we critically analyze or think, most of my classes taught me how to be a better writer or thinker, how to look through a different lens.  That’s what they’re trying to teach…when we leave this school there are a lot of” people who are not like you.  This will make you well rounded.

So many thanks to these students for their time and insight!  We appreciate their speaking with us today, and we definitely look forward to hosting more sessions like this in the future!

Student Perspective on Summer Reading

By Mark Heintz

At the beginning of May, Elk Grove kicked off summer reading with a school-wide initiative of trying to read a million minutes. You can read about the kick off here. We are nearing the end of that venture, and I asked a few of my first period freshmen on their thoughts. Here are two different student opinions on the million minutes of reading.

Summer Reading Choice: We Were Here by Matt De La Peña
By Nelson Alcantar

In my opinion, I think that reading the summer reading book is a very good thing. I like summer reading because I can start my mind for the day by slowly reading. When I say it slowly starts my mind, I mean that I usually feel sleepy and tired when I don't read. I feel that I can't focus. But by reading it starts my mind by feeding it words and thoughts slowly. Also I like reading the summer reading book at school because I don't read outside of school. I don't even know what's a book outside of school. So I think reading at school helps me finish the book and work faster.

Also, I love summer reading at school because my book is very good. I love my book because it has so much suspense and action. My book is about how a kid named Miguel took bad decisions which lead him to where he his right now. He has to go through many things in order to leave from there and he is also having many problems.

In all honesty, I think every school should start by reading a book for 10 min every day so they can learn more and get closer to books then iPods, iPhones, and other distractions.


Summer Reading Choice: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
By Reyna Shino 

I enjoy summer reading because it starts my day off less stressful. Knowing that I have time in the morning to just relax and read a book is great. I don't have to worry about jumping right into today's agenda. Reading is a great way to expand your vocabulary. I also enjoy the book I am currently reading called The Testing. It is a great book for students who enjoyed books such as The Hunger Games series and Divergent. I definitely encourage people to read this book.

Collaboration and Professional Learning Between Districts

By Anna Izzo

Earlier this year I attended the annual Midwest AATI (American Association of Teachers of Italian) conference at Ridgewood High School in Norridge.  Italian teachers aren’t too common, so after five years I’ve gotten to know just about everyone in the area.  This year, however, I met Allyson Feierberg who started the Italian program on her own at Glenbard North two years ago.  While she was born in Chicago, her mom grew up in Milan and spoke solely Italian at home.  We immediately clicked at the conference; we had a lot in common and had a blast discussing our favorite Italianisms.  We kept in touch as the year went on through email and text asking each other’s advice on a lesson or sharing new materials.  We met after school at Elios Pizzeria in Addison several times for some authentic pizza Napolitana- sacrifices, right?

Last Friday Glenbard North had an institute day, so we wrote up a brief itinerary of what we’d like to accomplish for a professional day.  Both schools fully supported our collaboration despite different districts.  Finding relatable materials and new resources is half the battle, and I’ve always struggled being a one-person team at EG. 

Next year will be Allyson’s first year teaching Italian 3, so we decided to start our day working on that curriculum.  I encouraged her to incorporate a Pinocchio unit, which we then created reading guides for the first four chapters.  I have found making the time for a reader or two, such as Pinocchio, has helped students piece together the foundation of the language they have been learning the past couple years, and allows them to see everything in context.  Typically after Pinocchio, I can really see how well the students can comprehend and use the language up to this point in their studies.

The rest of the day at Glenbard was spent finding and even writing reading samples with comprehension questions, and searching for new listening practice.  We also shared some cultural activities we had both made.  Both Allyson and I were so relieved to have had an entire day to collaborate with someone and to accomplish so much. 

Classkick

By Mark Heintz

Game changer! I have heard this term used in education twice. The first time was from Persida Bujdei.  She came into a peer observation group and was ecstatic about the power of AirPlay.  She was right on the implications and power of AirPlay. AirPlay continues to be a game changer!

The second was from Rachel Barry.   She came in after using Classkick for the first time.  Game changer was all she said. After using it, I cannot say enough on how much of gamer changer Classkick is.    Click here for the website. The website automatically plays an overview video that provides functionality of Classkick.

 It is an amazing tool! The user can upload any pdf or image into Classkick.  Classkick also connects with Google Drive. Any images or pdf already in Drive can be selected.  Once uploaded, the user easily can select any part of a pdf.

From Rachel's remark, I quickly created a lesson using Classkick. The lesson focused on the analysis of evidence and student writing.  The power of Classkick lies in the instant feedback it grants to the students and teacher.  The teacher can select any student and view their work in real time.   The teacher can comment on the information and the student receives the feedback in real time.   IN REAL TIME!

Since it is in real time, the feedback is immediate.  In the above image, the student wrote, "In both places."  I circled which places, and then they inserted Europe and Africa. The whole process took less than thirty seconds.  Since it was so fast,  the student's learning progressed quicker than ever before, because they received almost instant feedback while in the writing process.

The above image is the teacher's view.  The teacher can easily see the progress of all students. The teacher can click any square for a zoomed in view and the ability to provide feedback.  A great part of this view is just watching students think and express themselves in real time.  You don't have to be right next to the student, which allows students a degree of normalcy when writing.  Furthermore, the teacher can display any work via AirPlay.  Therefore, if a student writes something that is worthy of showing to the whole class, the teacher can easily display the work. The great thing, the teacher can display multiple student examples very quickly because of the central location of the work.

 

The student's work above shows their writing in purple and the teacher's feedback in red. The black is another student's feedback.  That's right, the teacher can enable student to student feedback.  And the student to student interaction occurs in real time!  The student can click on the hand icon in the upper left hand of the screen.  Once raised, teachers and students can help the person with the raised hand. Students can only help another student if the hand is raised.  They can then comment. The primary user can always delete any comments written by the teacher or another student.  

Students can work ahead if needed.  Also, students can work on the task after the class ended. The last bonus I will raise, is the work is saved for later use.  

A(P) World without a textbook

By Mark Heintz

Let me preface this blog post by stating that I had one of my most successful years in my AP World History course as measured by pass rate and the number of students who took the exam.  Despite that success rate, some things nagged at me.  I assigned a lot of work. Most of it was very targeted, I could tell if the students completed it, and it prompted them with feedback to help them move forward in the learning process. However, it was a lot of work, and I don't feel that a student should spend that much time outside of class.  So, every time I asked my students how much time they spent on the course, their responses wounded me.

Here is what I wrote about the textbook last spring: The book our district adopted is a challenge.  To be fair, I was on the textbook adoption committee and approved the book. But, I digress.  First, the book is at a college reading level.  Second, the book assumes the students have a great deal of background knowledge.  The book is great for students who know a lot of history, but almost all of my students are taking their first world history course. The students spend a lot of time outside of class trying to decode the text book.  No matter what pre-reading strategies are done in the classroom, it is still very difficult for my students to comprehend the material.

Last year, my attempt to help students centered around creating materials to help them with understanding the textbook, but I didn't feel good about that. Why was I doing all of this creation and instruction around reading a textbook? I would rather have spent time on primary sources or targeted feedback.  This year, I took a hard look at the AP World course guide. 

Furthering the issue, this year my students have a lower average on their Plan reading score and Plan composite scores by over one point compared to last year. So, the book is a major challenge and often pushes kids to believe they cannot achieve. First quarter has been a struggle. To say the least, the first two unit exams did not go well at all. 

In response to those poor test scores, I broke down each objective for the students.  It was very tedious, but incredibly rewarding. I found I taught too many things and neglected others.  But, more importantly, I now know what exactly I want the students to know. In a class that is meant to cover the entire history of the world in one year, it is easier when you know what you want your students to know. 

It is not easy to decipher what the College Board is looking for. Here is what the College Board provides.

I broke it down by the following:

I then have the students complete objective checks in class from time to time to see if they need more instruction on the topic. Here is what that quiz looks like:

I got the idea from the science department. They have been doing some fantastic work with breaking down what they want their students to know.  I give the students the objectives and as we go through the lessons, we fill out the answers. Then they just simply have to repeat. The problem with the course is that there is a lot of information to digest. So, it is a cumulative effect. The best part is, the students have a self-reflection built right into the objective check. Do you know it or do you not know it? The kids then know which objective they need to go back and study for the next check. 

I posted earlier about Schoology checklists and how to leverage them. I created 10-20 questions for each objective. So, the one above really has two objectives, and I created 14 questions for the Byzantine and 12 questions for the Sui, Tang and Song.  These quizzes serve as their homework. The quizzes provide instant feedback and a short reading that can redirect them to the correct answer.  

I have ditched the textbook as the core homework. I do use it as a resource from time to time in class, and it is always available to students if they want to read it.  My students are now reading more primary sources. I still employ pre-reading strategies to have the students access the primary sources. My students are writing more than they ever have before.  They are writing their understandings of the content. They are analyzing prompts more frequently.  They are doing the work.  

The big question is, does it work? I have given three summative unit exams with 50 questions each this year: River Valleys, Classical, and Post-Classical.  The average on the River Valley test was 31/50.  The average on the Classical test was 32.89.  After which I made all of the changes described above.  The success...the class average on the Post-Classical test was 40.6.  My students are doing less and getting more out of it. 

Why Am I Giving a Multiple Choice Quiz?

By Kim Miklusak

My daughter will be taking a quiz in the coming weeks where she has to name the 13 colonies.  I've been helping her study on Quizlet, and she loves it!  We've been practicing typing in the names, spelling, and identifying each state on the map.  The problem is that I don't know how she is being assessed on these names.  Does she get a blank sheet of paper and has to write them from memory?  Will there be a list and she has to circle the 13?  Is there a map?   Does spelling count?

None of this is a criticism of my daughter's teacher by any means!!  However, the whole experience as a parent has made me reflect more--and especially based on the discussions in Lead Learners over the past weeks--about the nature of assessments we give in our classrooms.  Oftentimes we give a multiple choice test or matching test because it is the easiest for us to grade.  We believe it assesses the students' content knowledge.  But I'm telling you right now, my daughter won't do well on this test if she has to write them all from memory.  And I can't help but think: if only they were to let her pick the way she wants to show her content knowledge, she would ace it!

...so as a teacher, why do I not want the same thing?  Specifically as an English teacher, I understand the time commitment and workload.  But I also know that I could just as easily give perhaps two or three different options for students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills various times throughout various units.  As long as the rubrics were equitable and the content demonstration was equal, wouldn't it be worth it?

Peer Observation Day at Elk Grove High School!

Written collaboratively by the ITF / DTC Team:  Linda Ashida, Rachel Barry, Mark Heintz, Kirsten Fletcher, Quinn Loch, Kim Miklusak and Katie Winstead

Today the Collab Lab hosted a new variation on the Elk Grove High School tradition of peer observing, that started five years ago. (To learn more about the history of Peer Observation Groups at EG, check out this Google slide presentation.) On this  Peer Observation Day we offered opportunities to visit classes every period of the day. Though the format has changed this year, the goal is the same: To provide ongoing, collaborative, and personalized professional learning opportunities to colleagues from across disciplines.

To inform staff about this professional learning opportunity, we messaged them the week before via Twitter and email using the infographic above. Without the need to RSVP, interested staff were invited to meet in the Collab Lab, during any period they had Conference or time free. Each period we went as a group to visit two different classrooms for about ten minutes.

Following the class visits, the groups returned to the Collab Lab to share applications, ideas, questions, and next steps related to our own work with students.  We wrote notes on the Collab Lab white board wall to hold our thinking. It was great to see how the ideas grew as the day progressed. And even the notes themselves, not just the observations, sparked new ideas, as teachers could see what people had written from the periods before them.  One of the DTCs who came in to the Collab Lab at the end of the day said, "Oh my gosh! There are so many great ideas on the wall since I left 5th period!"

The observations sparked many great conversations about connections across disciplines and applications to our own classes.  The class visits even inspired same-day applications of ideas! For example, Kristen Guth was inspired 2nd hour by observing Mark Heintz' use of Google Docs to have groups of students collaborate to analyze sources related to the learning goals (Each student group worked on a on a single class-shared Google Doc, so after the activity, each group could see the work of the other groups).  By the end of third hour, Kristen dropped by the Collab Lab to share how she had already adapted Mark's idea to use in her English classes 4th hour!

An important point that came up in conversation each period was the need to remember that our focus is always on learning, and implementing technology according the student learning goals and our readiness for next steps. That is, just because we are a 1:1 school doesn't mean our lessons should be driven by technology.  Some lessons we saw today would be considered "low-tech" and yet they were engaging, sometimes "hands-on," offering students time to think aloud, process learning with peers, make their learning visible and get immediate feedback. For example,  in one lesson students collaborated and used string and paper labels to represent the great lakes and sustainability.

At the same time, we need to recognize and be open to learning about the ways that technology can, indeed, transform learning; learning experiences that couldn't be accomplished without technology. For example, today we say lessons that included: targeted and immediate feedback with Schoology Rubrics; collaboration, peer-feedback, and differentiated learning with Google Docs and BaiBoard; and, messaging authors via Social Media, in hopes of getting feedback directly from the source!

Another point that came up in our post-observation conversations was that with all the sparks of ideas we shared today, we should not put pressure on ourselves to do too much.  It is important to strike balance, with an open mind to see and hear new ideas, and be inspired by them, and at then filter out the the next steps that make sense for each of us and our students.  Furthermore, as several teachers mentioned, there is so much value in simply getting to know the work or our peers and our students -- what learning looks like -- in other classes.  Even students throughout the day commented how interesting it was to see teachers learning together in their classes.  Both staff and students were very open to having the peer observers wander around their classes and talk to the students about their work. We have so much to learn from the students too!

In addition to documenting our learning on the Collab Lab white board walls, the ITF / DTC team also created a shared Google Doc to take notes each period. The doc includes a chart with the names of teachers who have Conference each period (so we would could anticipate who might join us, and to follow-up to share our ideas). The chart also contains links to a note doc for each period which will also facilitate our future connections and next steps for learning.

Several teachers identified next steps they planned to take and they made arrangements to meet with DTCs in the Collab Lab. For example, one teacher plans to explore ways to engage students with Notability. He'll meet with a DTC tomorrow, try the ideas out in his classes, and then report back to us in the Collab Lab to let us know how it worked, and to share his example with others.  This is just one example of the many ways that professional learning multiplies through our peer collaboration in the Collab Lab.

Today's observations inspired some good suggestions from teachers related to next steps for Collab Lab support of our professional learning. For example, one suggestion was to have themed Learning Labs, like "Notability Day" or "Baiboard Day," where any period of the day teachers could drop by the Collab Lab to explore ways to engage students, build collaboration, increase peer-feedback and student-ownership of learning, and give immediate and targeted feedback with one specific app.  Staff could share examples with each other and have time to "play."

As one of our DTCs tweeted at the end of the day, it was a very informative --and FUN! -- day of learning together. To get more of an idea of what our day "looked like," check out tweets at #214Learns and #EG1to1.   For some highlights of the days Tweets, check out this Storify.

We would like to give a big shout out to staff who welcomed colleagues to their classes:

1st Period: K. Fletcher - AP French, K. Miklusak - AP English Language
2nd Period: M. Heintz - Human Geography, K. Miklusak - AP English Language
3rd Period: Q. Loch - AP Environmental Science, B. Kale - Written & Oral Communication
4th Period: R. Barry - Honors Geometry, D. Saken - AP Psychology
5th Period: Q. Loch - AP Environmental Science, K. Fletcher - French 4
6th Period: M. Heintz - World History, T. Boczar - Physics
7th Period: M. Heintz - World History, C. Mullaney - Advanced Algebra
8th Period: B. Kale - Written & Oral Communication, C. Cirrincione - Human Geography

Also, a big thank you to all the staff who joined us on these class visits.  We had from one to seven peer observers each period! We are looking forward to ongoing collaboration -- continued ways we will Connect - Learn - Share -- to strengthen our interdisciplinary professional learning networks even more, with our colleagues at Elk Grove High School, and in District 214 and beyond!